:00:00. > :00:00.disgraced former cabinet minister, Chris Huhne, over a scandal
:00:00. > :00:18.regarding his speeding points. Political crisis and a shrinking
:00:19. > :00:24.economy, how much more damage than Thailand's political stalemate do to
:00:25. > :00:34.the country's finances? And, air Asia revs up for takeoff in India,
:00:35. > :00:39.we find out how it plans to compete. Work to Asia Business Report.
:00:40. > :00:44.Thailand may be a step closer to ending its long`running political
:00:45. > :00:47.crisis. PM Yingluck Shinawatra's caretaker government has agreed to
:00:48. > :00:52.hold a new election in July, following months of street protest.
:00:53. > :00:57.The PM still faces the risk of being removed from office by the courts.
:00:58. > :01:00.She has been given until today to submit her defence against
:01:01. > :01:04.allegations of abuse of power, but she is not expected to testify in
:01:05. > :01:13.court. The crisis has taken its toll on Thailand's economy, and we speak
:01:14. > :01:19.to an Asia economist. The key factor will be to what extent we see a
:01:20. > :01:25.rebound in domestic confidence, and there has to be some clarity on the
:01:26. > :01:32.political front. Without clarity, investment can't take place and
:01:33. > :01:37.commerce will stagnate. US confident as the finance ministry, which is
:01:38. > :01:41.sticking to its forecast of growth of 6.4% for this year? It is only
:01:42. > :01:48.forecasting one quarter of retraction, you think could get 2/4
:01:49. > :01:54.of contraction? I think officials like to be optimistic, any
:01:55. > :01:58.assumption that hopefully political clarity could become clearer in the
:01:59. > :02:03.next weeks and months. For that to happen, exporters to recover, the
:02:04. > :02:07.global economy has to be firm, and investment in consumption has to
:02:08. > :02:10.take place. I'm not sure that will happen just yet. How big an impact
:02:11. > :02:16.as it had on investment and consumption? Water companies
:02:17. > :02:20.businesses doing? We are not quite sure how the political uncertainty
:02:21. > :02:25.can drag on, let's hold onto investment decisions, holding onto
:02:26. > :02:28.expansion, because consumers are not doing anything, the companies are
:02:29. > :02:36.not going to take the lead. What risks that a new election will not
:02:37. > :02:49.resolve anything? If companies are still set on the goal, but they do
:02:50. > :02:52.not want Yingluck Shinawatra or taxi near what are in power, then it is
:02:53. > :02:59.something that could go on for months. After eight years at the
:03:00. > :03:07.helm, the boss of the Ford Motor Co, Alan Mullaly, is stepping down. His
:03:08. > :03:15.era came to an end with much fanfare, as he is credited with
:03:16. > :03:23.rescuing the country from the global financial crisis. Mark Fields is set
:03:24. > :03:26.to replace him. I will build on their success, we would like to
:03:27. > :03:30.accelerate our pace of progress, because we are just starting to see
:03:31. > :03:36.the benefits and the power of the one Ford plan. To China, where
:03:37. > :03:39.possible new rules on the use of commodities to back loans are
:03:40. > :03:45.pushing down the price of iron ore, and could in turn cause problems for
:03:46. > :03:51.the steel mills. Steel mills have been one side of
:03:52. > :03:58.China's dynamic economy. They are the backbone of China's skyscrapers
:03:59. > :04:01.and factories. The key ingredient of steel is iron ore, which has seen
:04:02. > :04:07.its price pushed up, by China's insatiable demand. China is the
:04:08. > :04:12.biggest importer of iron ore in the world, taking approximately 60% of
:04:13. > :04:16.the iron ore market. At the moment it is very much demand driven,
:04:17. > :04:21.rather than the supply side of the balance sheet. Export out of
:04:22. > :04:25.Australia, that is fine, and we are really looking at what is happening
:04:26. > :04:29.in China. We are looking at macro growth, whether China can maintain
:04:30. > :04:38.its growth targets, which have been set above 7%. The Margaret is very
:04:39. > :04:44.set on what is happening `` market. And, whether it can be facilitated,
:04:45. > :04:47.which is the availability of credit. Since the economy slowed, stocks of
:04:48. > :04:52.iron or built up and prices fell. The problem is, many of these steel
:04:53. > :04:57.mills not only possessed iron ore, but used it as a form of trade
:04:58. > :05:02.finance. In other words, they used it as collateral for loans.
:05:03. > :05:07.Authorities are now concerned about the risks behind such deals. To
:05:08. > :05:13.address these fears, regulators have asked banks to re`examine how iron
:05:14. > :05:18.ore imports are paid for. That could make matters worse. On the back of
:05:19. > :05:21.this announcement, the price of iron or futures fell dramatically in
:05:22. > :05:25.recent days. Investors are now concerned that a flood of iron ore
:05:26. > :05:30.stocks may be dumped in the market, which would push prices down even
:05:31. > :05:34.further. Microsoft says users of its Windows
:05:35. > :05:37.XP operating system will also get the security update it has issued to
:05:38. > :05:43.fix a flaw in the Internet Explorer browser. It issued the update on
:05:44. > :05:48.Thursday to fix the bug, that could let hackers gained access and user
:05:49. > :05:52.rights to computers. Microsoft ended support for Windows XP earlier this
:05:53. > :05:56.month, which means no bug fixes and security updates for it. But, they
:05:57. > :06:03.decided to make an exception, as the flaw was decided just days after it
:06:04. > :06:07.ended. Sony is warning it could have losses of nearly $1.3 billion this
:06:08. > :06:10.year. The Japanese electronics giant is planning a costly exit from the
:06:11. > :06:16.personal computer business. It has also slashed its earnings outlook in
:06:17. > :06:23.the face of a major restructure that will see 5000 jobs cut from its
:06:24. > :06:37.struggling computer and television division. Opponents to the
:06:38. > :06:46.government have demonstrated in Kuala Lumpur.
:06:47. > :06:53.Malaysian budget carrier Air Asia is thought to be the first
:06:54. > :06:56.international brand to fly domestic routes in India. Low`cost airlines
:06:57. > :07:01.have struggled in India, so how does Air Asia plan to compete? We caught
:07:02. > :07:07.up with the chief executive of Air Asia India, to find out. We're
:07:08. > :07:12.dealing with a cost structure that is significantly higher than most
:07:13. > :07:16.other countries. We have fuel, which is extremely expensive, tax on fuel
:07:17. > :07:23.which is very expensive. Bundle those together, and 50% of your P
:07:24. > :07:31.is blocked in. Then, we have issues around payroll, salaries, and
:07:32. > :07:35.infrastructure costs. The areas in which you can optimise that had to
:07:36. > :07:39.do with pushing revenues up, and that is not by raising fares, but by
:07:40. > :07:43.making sure the volumes are being catered to. It is by constantly
:07:44. > :07:47.looking at your costs in bringing back down. How has the competition
:07:48. > :07:51.welcomed you? They weren't happy when you announced your plans of
:07:52. > :07:55.entering in their. That is a good question! I think we welcome the
:07:56. > :08:00.competition, and I truly believe in that. I think competition is a great
:08:01. > :08:05.thing, and no competitor is going to just let us walk in through the
:08:06. > :08:14.front door. It has not been easy, there has been a lot of fighting
:08:15. > :08:16.going on, and I think it is going to be a beautiful thing, and the only
:08:17. > :08:22.people who will benefit other people India. You can see more on that and
:08:23. > :08:26.other business stories from across India this weekend on India Is this
:08:27. > :08:37.Report. Apple and Samsung could get the
:08:38. > :08:42.verdict in their crucial patent infringement case as early as this
:08:43. > :08:44.weekend. The world's two largest smartphone makers have been battling
:08:45. > :08:52.it out in a Californian court over the past month. As Richard Taylor
:08:53. > :08:55.reports, millions of dollars are at stake.
:08:56. > :09:02.This is just the latest feud between these technology titans, and unlike
:09:03. > :09:11.the trial of a few years back, this one is focused much more on the
:09:12. > :09:18.software inside the devices. Apple value their patents at over $2
:09:19. > :09:22.billion. Because the arguments have centred around software, another
:09:23. > :09:28.Silicon Valley giant, Google, has been invoked. Google make the
:09:29. > :09:32.Android operating system that runs inside the Samsung handsets. As
:09:33. > :09:35.such, a primary strand and Samsung's argument is in effect that
:09:36. > :09:41.Apple are fingering the wrong target. Google executives have taken
:09:42. > :09:47.the stand to argue that they developed the software, not Apple.
:09:48. > :09:50.Apple have disagreed with that, and tried to convince the jury that
:09:51. > :09:54.Samsung are to blame, because they are wilfully using it inside their
:09:55. > :09:57.handsets. Regardless of the verdict, you can be sure that, if past
:09:58. > :10:03.experience is anything to go by, this trial will run on a lot
:10:04. > :10:07.longer, with appeals and counter appeals set to ensue. Even when the
:10:08. > :10:10.saga ends on the West Coast of America, you can ensure it will
:10:11. > :10:15.continue in courtrooms around the globe.
:10:16. > :10:21.Asian shares have started the day on a subdued note. It is a mixed bag,
:10:22. > :10:26.but pretty much on hold, waiting for key US payroll numbers, which are
:10:27. > :10:27.due out later today. They could show employment writing at its fastest
:10:28. > :10:44.clip in five months. Our top stories: Police in Nigeria
:10:45. > :10:48.are saying that 19 people have been killed, and 60 injured, in an
:10:49. > :10:54.explosion at a bus station in the capital, Abuja. Syrian activist
:10:55. > :10:57.state government aircraft have dropped a barrel`bomb on a busy
:10:58. > :11:01.market in the Syrian help district of Aleppo. The barrister and
:11:02. > :11:02.part`time